I remember having a conversation with the great John Madden about the increasing popularity of groups like the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, the Raiderettes or the 49ers Gold Rush.

He laughed and said, “Yeah, one day the players and coaches will sit on the sideline watching the cheerleaders for a couple of hours and then the team will fill a 20-minute intermission.”

John Madden obviously was the proud owner of a crystal ball.

The good people who put together All-Star Games in every major American sport have obviously gone to school on John Madden’s observations. It’s not really about cheerleaders, but it is about everything except the actual game.

Tuesday’s major league baseball All-Star game defined the genre. The Home Run Derby the day before the game, draws as many fans as the real thing. This is an event wherein some of the league’s big-time power hitters face batting-practice cookies and endeavor to strike the slow-moving object as close to the nearest orbit as many times as possible.

This is not an original idea. The first Home Run Derby was a television show back in 1960. Three of the participants were Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron. The winner earned the whopping sum of $2,000. It included in-depth interviews by a host whose knowledge of baseball stopped with knowing that he couldn’t hit one.

“So Willie, what’s your strategy?” “He’s gonna throw it, and I’m gonna hit it”. “OK, let’s get to the action.”

The Home Run Derby has gotten a tad more refined in its All-Star Game reincarnation. Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, who is in the midst of what could be a record breaking season for a catcher, had his dad pitching and his brother catching. His bro didn’t have to catch much. Fifty-two of dad’s pitches were home runs.

It ain’t baseball but 5.7 million people watched it.

As to the game, it managed to fill the hours between the Home Run Derby and the “Swing Off”, which decided the outcome.

The “Swing Off” was a first, and I must admit, it beats the hell out of “ghost runners” when it comes to deciding the outcome of a baseball game. In fact, in the days after the game there was actually talk about using the Swing Off to decide a real game.

I’m not sure I would go that far with an All-Star game gimmick, but I suppose we could put it to a vote. How should we decide a major league baseball game? 1) A Swing Off, 2) Pin the Tail on the Pitcher, 3) Name that Walk-up Tune, or 4) Sunflower Seed Spitting. Does anybody have Abner Doubleday’s phone number?

As to the players, of course it’s an honor to be named an All-Star, and in some cases it involves contractual bonus money. The only thing most players would agree on is that they’d really rather not be there for the actual game.

In fact, several players were so invested in the outcome that they were headed for the airport before the Swing Off began.

Here’s my thought: Let’s have the All-Star Game selectees be introduced live from their living rooms just before the start of the Home Run Derby, then between the first and second rounds of the Derby have the Savannah Bananas and their traveling opponents the Party Animals, play three innings of All-Star caliber laughs. The evening ends with a home run Swing Off and Commissioner Rob Manfred sending the cheering crowd into the night with his personal rendition of Hit the Road Jack.

The simple fact is that All-Star games in any sport have taken on a carnival atmosphere. The NBA All-Star game and the NFL Pro Bowl have changed formats more than the Evening News. The reason is simple. You just can’t afford to let a million-dollar property run into an errant elbow and be lost for any lengthy period of time to the team that pays him.

For years the NBA All-Star game was a non-contact event. Nobody wanted to get hurt so defense was only a rumor. Whichever team had Magic Johnson or Steph Curry would win just because they were the only two guys who passed the ball.

Last year the NBA went to a tournament format. There were four teams with every game decided by the first team to 40 points. This took about four and a half minutes.

The 2026 NBA All-Star game has changed again. This time it’s the USA vs. The World. The biggest question — will The World play defense?

The NFL Pro Bowl has decided that football is way too dangerous and instead now has a weekend that culminates with a flag football game in which a 350 pound behemoth angrily attempts to remove a silk handkerchief from the pocket of a quarterback who’s making $40 million more than he is.

The first day of activities at the Pro Bowl consists of a Skills Competition that involves both football and non-football abilities. This is important in the fan’s knowledge of his or her team’s starting right tackle.

He has a shuttle speed of 4.5 seconds AND he can muster up a mighty fine potato salad.

Every All-Star game in every sport now has a fan-friendly side show that comes along with it. Fans can shoot free throws, throw a football into a clown’s mouth, see how their pitching speed compares to Logan Webb’s and then plunk down many dollars for an official City Connect jersey or a tee shirt that says “My parents went to the All-Star Game and all I got was a ‘Swing Off’ tee-shirt.”

True confession: I didn’t watch either the Home Run Derby or the All-Star Game. I was too busy watching the Food Channel hoping to find that recipe for potato salad.

Barry Tompkins is a 40-year network television sportscaster and a San Francisco native. Email him at barrytompkins1@gmail.com.